Shazi and the Demons of the First Order (Book 1)

Sari

After I realized that I had forgotten the keys to my apartment, I ran all the way downstairs, not even bothering to take the elevator anymore, and went to the front desk to request a temporary key to open my door. 

The secretary had looked up from her computer with a kind of lazy head raise, which suggested that she didn't care less for my problem, but handed over the key anyway. 

I thanked her and ran back up the emergency stairs to my floor, and opened the door with the plastic key for apartment four-oh-seven. Once inside, I had changed from my pajamas into appropriate outdoor wear, and then grabbed my forgotten keys and went out of the apartment to go back downstairs again. 

Now I'm here. Patiently waiting for the person in front of me to finish talking to the secretary. 

"Name?" the front lady asked, slowly. 

The man standing before me didn't look to be a day over thirty, and he seemed to be in quite a rush because I noticed his foot tapping the floor rhythmically. 

I shrugged inwardly. 

He must be a musician. 

"Richard. Richard Fents." he replied, and looked around nervously. 

"You alright, son?" the secretary asked when she saw his anxious expression. 

He met her lazy gaze and nodded a couple of times. 

"Yes, I'm fine. Just in a bit of a hurry." he said, and glanced at the watch on his wrist. 

Seeing the time from where I was, I realized that I was so late for work.

"Oh damn!" I cursed under my breath, and glanced behind me at the doors. 

I looked back at the secretary, who was very slowly writing down his name on her computer. 

"Uh, Karen? Can I go? I am so late for work and-" I started saying, but when she didn't lift her head and instead waved me away, I was so relieved I almost tripped over my own feet as I made my way to the doors. 

"Don't forget my coffee, Sari." she called out to me. 

I gave her a little salute and ran out of the apartment building. 

Now I just hope I'm not too late to catch the bus.

)~(

Turns out I wasn't. 

I had arrived just as the driver was about to drive off, and I waved my hand around frantically, desperately wanting him to see me. He did, and stopped the bus before he got onto the main road. 

"Thank you so much." I said, breathlessly, and swiped my bus card on his scanner before making my way down the bus. 

I took a seat near the back, like I always did, and pulled my phone out of my pocket. 

I am so late for work. My boss is going to be so mad he might even- 

"Hey." a voice said beside me, which almost made me drop my phone in the process. 

Sitting to my right, and casually leaning against the window behind her, was a girl with curly black hair and caramel skin, her hazel eyes gleaming with delight. 

"Hi." I muttered, and shoved my phone back in my pocket. 

The girl smiled slightly and held out her hand. 

"Jolenifer. But everyone calls me Jolene." she said, and waited until I shook her hand before she stuffed it back in her jacket's pocket. 

"Where are you headed?" she asked, curiously. 

I adjusted my bag on my lap and tried my best to ignore the prying look in her eyes.

 "Work. I'm a journalist." I said, and cursed myself because I didn't mean to blurt out what my job was to a stranger. 

"Hey, how old are you, anyway? Sixteen?" 

The girl frowned and then sniffed. 

"Seventeen, actually. I'm headed to the police station where my father works so I can pass the exam." she replied. 

I gave her a look as if to ask for her to go on. 

"To become a junior police officer. And the first female one, at that." she finished.

 I nodded slowly and fixed my bag when it was beginning to slide off my lap. 

"Did you get any good stories lately?" Jolene asked, curiously. 

I glanced at her once before staring forward, my eyes glued on the back of a t-shirt belonging to an elderly woman sitting in the front of the bus. 

"No. But I just might. Maybe I'll call it 'teenager takes exam to become first female junior cop'. Is that even legal? For a seventeen year-old girl to be a cop?" I asked, and eyed her carefully.

She sniffed, rubbed her nose with the back of her jacket's sleeve, then said: "Oh, yeah. My dad said it's a new thing that they're opening up. I thought I'd give it a try so that I can prove to those prejudiced cops that I can do as much as they can."

 I couldn't help the small smile that crossed my lips. 

Well, she might turn out to be an interesting story, after all. 

"I'm sorry. Am I rambling too much? I knew that Jaime was going to rub off on me one way or another." she said, and bowed her head slightly. 

I chuckled and checked the time on my phone. 

Twenty five minutes late. It could be worse. 

But still, I would rather the bus driver speeds up a little bit. 

"You're not rambling. Trust me. I know what rambling sounds like." I told her, reassuringly. 

She smiled and seemed to loosen up at my words. 

"Wish me luck, then?" she asked, just as the bus stopped in front of the police station. 

"Good luck." I said, and watched her get up from her seat and head to the driver, thanking him before getting off the bus. 

I leaned my head against the back of my seat, and stared straight ahead, again at the old lady's t-shirt. 

"What kind of a name is Jolene, anyway?" I asked myself.